Elon Musk becomes world’s fourth-richest billionaire after gaining $8 billion

Elon Musk’s financial upswing shows no signs of slowing.

The outspoken entrepreneur is now the world’s fourth-richest person after Tesla Inc. shares surged 11% on Monday, closing at a record high and boosting Musk’s net worth by $7.8 billion.

The rise vaulted the Tesla co-founder past French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, the wealthiest non-American on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk’s $84.8 billion fortune puts him within $15 billion of Mark Zuckerberg, number three on the ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.

Monday’s Tesla rally is just the latest triumph for the billionaire who only two years ago was sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and had to resign as chairman of the electric car maker over rogue tweets. Tesla shares are up 339% this year, fueled by growing anticipation that the company will be included in the S&P 500 Index.

Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, is poised to potentially pad his fortune further. The company is close to finalizing $2 billion in new funding that would increase its equity valuation to $46 billion, Bloomberg reported last week.

Musk’s fortune has grown by $57.2 billion this year, the second-biggest increase on the index. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos is this year’s biggest gainer, up $73 billion.

Tech shares have been on a tear this year as the Covid-19 pandemic drove more people online, lifting the fortunes of the companies’ founders and putting the industry under increased scrutiny. Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg became a centibillionaire this month, joining Bezos and Bill Gates, the second-wealthiest person on Earth.